1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to transition metal carbonyl complexes intercalated with lamellar materials. The intercalated complexes are useful as catalysts for a variety of vapor and liquid phase organic reactions, e.g., the water gas shift reaction, hydrogenation, hydroformylation, methanation, and so forth.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A number of catalytically active compositions based on graphite intercalated metal and metal compounds are known. U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,999 to Derleth et al. describes graphite-metal chloride intercation compounds, said to be useful as catalysts for the so-called Deacon process, made by contacting a mixture of graphite powder and at least one water of hydration-containing metal chloride with a stream of chlorine at elevated temperature and ambient or superatmospheric pressure. U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,067 to Schneider and U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,566 to Lalancette each describes graphite intercalated with chromium trioxide. The resulting products are intended for use in the selective oxidation of primary alcohols to aldehydes. U.S. Pat. No. 3,842,121 to Ichikawa et al. describes a catalyst capable of converting carbon monoxide into hydrocarbons which is a complex compound containing at least one alkali metal, at least one transition metal halide and graphite. Studies reported by E. Kikuchi et al., J. of Cat. 57: 27-34 (1979) and Mashinskii et al., Izv. Akad. Nauk. SSSR Khim 9, 2018 (1976) strongly suggest that the alkali metal component of the Ichikawa et al. intercalates reduces the transition metal halide component to the metallic state. U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,963 to Lalancette discloses the reaction of hydrogen and a carbon oxide to provide methane employing as catalyst, a transition metal of zero valence intercalated in graphite. U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,944 to Lalancette describes a Friedel-Crafts mixed hydrocarbon synthesis using graphite intercalated with a Lewis acid such as aluminum trichloride, aluminum tribromide and ferric bromide. The process for preparing organic fluorides described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,950,262 to Lalancette employs grphite intercalated with up to 75% by weight of antimony pentafluoride. U.S. Pat. No. 3,962,133 to Rodewald describes a process for intercalating graphite with a Lewis acid fluoride in the presence of gaseous fluorine. The resulting compositions are said to be useful catalysts for such conversion processes as cracking, isomerization, alkylation polymerization, disproportionation, dealkylation and transalkylation. These same conversion processes are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,984,352 to Rodewald as catalyzed with graphite having intercalated in the lattice thereof between about 5 and about 75 weight percent of a Lewis acid and optionally, a minor proportion of a Bronsted acid and/or a Group VI-B or Group VIII metal. U.S. Pat. No. 4,107,076 to Eisenberg et al. describes a catalyst system for the water gas shift reaction based on [Rh(CO).sub.2 Cl].sub.2, aqueous HI and glacial acetic acid.